chunkychic: yes it is that eating more means pounds go bye bye. But you have to choose what to eat.
I've done calories cycle on and off. There are days when i suddenly want to eat a big meal, then I go lower on the next day. I think it does balance out in the end. But normally, i have pretty much the same recipe so everything is just the same

My diet consists mainly of fresh fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains...nothing really considered "bad".

I think it would help me if there was a way for me to get an exact number for calories I should be eating each to day to lose, ya know? :|

But you see there is no way on earth to know an EXACT number. Those calculators are just guesstimates. Even people who have "been there, done that" can't tell any on for sure, for sure what will produce a weight loss for any one individual. No one CAN tell you. IT IS ALL TRIAL AND ERROR. SOMETHING WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT ON OUR OWN. We are all experiments of one.

You take a reasonable number, track your calories very closely for 2 weeks and see what kind of results you get. You can then take it from there.

I calorie shift or cycle..what ever you want to call it but I usually stay around 1200-1500 calories. It works well for me if I up my activity on the higher calorie days to maintain a good deficit! I think it's healthy for your metabolism as well. You want to keep your body guessing!

Thank you so much. I have started today upping my calories to 1600 because I had strength circuit training which I do 2 times a week. The other 5 days, I will stick to 1300. About how long is recommended for me to see if this is giving me the results I want? 2 weeks?

Yes, I'd give it a good 2 weeks.

Thank you. I will give it my all. Wish me luck

WHOA, ChunkyChic, yes that is very low

Again, RockinRobin is right. (thank goodness for the pros here) Those calculators will never be 100% accurate. It can give you a jumping off point, but that is about it. I bet even if you went to Tom Venuto himself who REALLY advocates calorie cycling, he wouldn't be able to give you an exact figure.

So we know for a fact that you cannot DROP your calories anymore. There is nowhere else to go except up. Try the 13-1600 if that is where you feel comfortable. I go up to 1800 on two days and it doesn't affect my weight loss at all. In fact, by looking at my logs I keep, I would say I lose the MOST on average on the days following the increases.

lol, it is funny you mention Tom Venuto because I just today acquired his book "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle"

What exactly is calorie cycling?